Columbo
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Posts posted by Columbo
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finally finished (catching up)
thought that battle (in ep 9) was poorly done, but the season finale made up for it
the show's strength is its story and politics and acting, whenever it gets action-y, it gets pretty lame, imo.
also really, really hate the targaryean (spelling) mother of dragons subplot. i find all of those characters to be really annoying, and their dialogue to be obnoxiously bad. "I am your kahleesi! The Mother of Dragons! Take me to The Thirteen so I can visit The House of The Undying!" -- it's so dumb. It's like when there's any detail in the story, they have some silly name for it (i.e. "The ___ "), and then they repeat 40 times per minute
Yeah, I hate her character in the series. She never does anything, all she does is go around whining and telling everyone that they need to listen to her because she's the "mother" of some dragon eggs that existed long before she was born.
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Why are you using the route planner in the first place then?
If you're looking on their site, obviously you are planning to take the bus, so it's going to give you a bus route... Makes perfect sense to me.
Haha. No but seriously, if you need to make a connection that involves a 5 minute walk, their trip planner will sooner suggest 3 buses and take you on a 15km detour instead.
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Hey why not, after all Broadway is a magical street with unlimited road space right? Let's spend money on this, why invest in a realistic long-term solution?
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http://www.ctvbc.ctv...ishColumbiaHome
Distance based fares? It could increase more transit trips which could mean more revenue. The way I see it right now is people are more likely to drive to places nearby than taking public transit because it is a $2.50 fare regardless.
That's a good point, I've never thought about it that way. It is really stupid that if you live at Joyce and want to go to Metrotown, you have to pay $3.75 for a 2-zone and spend 3 minutes on the train. I would drive too.
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Oh no! One of the four express lines to UBC only runs part of the day!
That's four more Bline type buses than the whole south of fraser. Even the heavily populated areas of Surrey/Langley where our only alternatives are a horrifically slow and rarely occuring set of milk run buses that could get me to work in an hour and a half on a good day or the driving (in ten foot increments for the last few kilometers) over the Port Mann or Alex Fraser, with the former soon to be a lot nicer to drive on but an extra 6 bucks a day (aka 180 a week) on top of the massive gas taxes we pay to subsidise the rest of the region.
Don't be silly, you don't pay gas taxes based on the region you live in, you pay based on how much you drive. And it follows that if you drive more, you contribute more to the wear and tear of the roads, and you put more pollution in our collective air. You're not subsidizing anyone.
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At least you have buses in Vancouver. Ever try commuting in Surrey?
Maybe if Surrey wasn't designed by what appears to be a 5-year-old it would actually be feasible to run buses there!
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The bus stop signs and the scrolls are getting replaced.
Wish they would add bus route numbers to even the local bus routes.
I don't mind the new signs but the existing ones are just fine too... but Translink has so many budget problems right now, so WHY are they spending precious dollars on this?!?!?!
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Of course they voted for it. Who wouldn't?
Entitlement programs are always popular so long as someone else is paying for them.
My point was, even students who live on campus and don't take transit every day still voted to keep the UPass, even though it adds to their tuition. The UPass is subsidized but it's not free.
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Isn't the U-pass optional? I'm sure students who live on campus could just opt out if they wanted to.
No it's not, except in special cases (e.g. you're taking only distance-ed courses).
Still, the last time UBC voted on whether to keep the UPass, even at an increased fee, I think the students were 90-95% in favour.
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I am in favour of [...] and making transit free.
Wait, but then by your logic won't everyone who works downtown move to Langley to get the most value out of their free transit?
Because that's essentially the argument you have against the UPass...
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This model of the one price fits all where someone commuting from surrey daily pays the same as an on campus person that leaves once a month actually encourages long commutes which last I check is the opposite of good transporation policy!!!!!
Seriously? You think people will be "encouraged" to live further from UBC just to get the maximum value out of their UPass? You're aware that people transiting to UBC from Surrey spend at least 3 hours a day packed like a sardine on transit, right? It doesn't matter how much the trip costs, no one ever "wants" to do that. I'm sure students would live close to campus if they could, but do you have any idea how expensive it is? It's just not feasible for most students.
Also, the further people commute, the more it benefits us all to get them out of their cars and onto transit. It's a good system. Deal with it.
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Translink barely has enough money to support the UPass system the way it is, that's why!
Be happy you get cheap transit three quarters of the year. When I went to school I didn't get a discount at all and yet I survived.
The UPass is an investment for Translink, they're creating a generation of students that will hopefully use transit for life. I see no problem with them giving students a pass for 3 or 4 summers in their short education careers to bolster that invention. The return would be huge.
Plus I happened to buy passes in the summer, but a lot of students either scam the system or just don't bus regularly in the summer. So giving these students UPasses doesn't represent any lost income, because these people weren't bringing in money for them in the first place. Plus like I said, it'll foster a greater appreciation for transit in a group of people that hopefully has decades of transit use ahead of them.
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Yes but they knew about those. Hence one would have to assume they budgeted for them. They seem "surprised" by this increase which should be equal to bonus money they weren't expecting to have beyond their original budget...yet they still somehow have no money....?
At this point, any extra money they find will just delay cuts to service that they say may soon have to take place. I think the same thing happened last quarter, which is so far great news.
Yeah they budgeted for the Canada Line and for general operating costs, but they didn't anticipate just how high gas prices would go, which takes a huge toll. And the Canada Line was way over budget because of things largely out of their control, such as a huge increase in the cost of concrete and other building materials. It's hard to anticipate everything. I think they always knew that they'd need a new source of revenue to keep things going (ie gas tax), and I think they're still counting on it.
But yeah any new money is great, and it'll help to keep them afloat. Before I blame them, I'd look at other city issues - like the urban sprawl south of the Fraser that makes Translink run empty buses to underpopulated areas at a huge loss, etc.
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Yet they still have no money...? That tells me two things:
One - Riders are not paying enough.
Two - They're poorly managed.
Three - They have enormous operating costs, not to mention the loans plus interest they have to repay for major infrastructure projects such as the Canada line.
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Technically, you're only supposed to be using the U-pass during the months you are registered for classes.
I've always found this to be ridiculous. I never took summer classes so every summer I was stuck paying about $450 over 4 months for bus passes. What do they think, that poor students suddenly become wealthy during the summer? I needed the money I was earning to save for next year's tuition. If the goal of the UPass is to help students and to foster an appreciation for transit, why shouldn't it apply year-round?
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Oh and people taking the bus crossing over the bridge don't have to pay the toll.
Yeah, they pay for a bus ticket, and almost certainly a 2-zone at that.
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I am not a fan of this decision to install turnstiles. The people who are evading fares probably aren't going to be riding anyway now that they are installed and if they really want to, they will just jump the gate. I don't think the increased sales will make up the cost but lets hope for the best. I would rather they just hire more Translink staff (not transit police because they cost too much) to check for tickets.
I think that public washrooms would be a terrible idea. Its not going to increase ridership by much if at all. These washrooms will also be incredible dirty unless constantly cleaned and imagine the cost of that.
I agree that they probably won't recover enough money from fare evaders using to make up for the turnstiles... But maybe turnstiles will give skytrain stations a semblance of increased security and get more people to ride the trains. I remember seeing a poll that said security was a major issue keeping a lot of people away from public transit, maybe this will help.
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how much $?
a surprising amount
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New Westminster - this area is starting to get dense now. A few apartments have gone up and I think there's new plans for a new dense commercial area around it? There's a lot of apartments in New Westminster but not a lot of them are by the station (now how does that make sense?)
The density around New West station is exploding, there's been at least 4 or 5 new apartment buildings constructed within walking distance in the past few years, and now they're building that huge one that's actually connected to the station. And yes, as you mentioned, there are plans for a large commercial area directly attached to it. They're finally getting it right.
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Just wanted to say bravo and congrats to Translink on the absolutely incredible job they did over the past 2 weeks. I have to admit I was a bit worried at the outset. But I have never in my life found it easier to get around this city than during the Olympics. Not even the slightest of problems, it was truly outstanding - a job exceptionally well done.
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Jesus...again?! Didn't they just apply for a fair increase less than a year ago?
Last time I remember fares increasing was January 2008...
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I got to UBC on the B-Line in a record time of 20 minutes today... this Olympic lane thing is great so far!
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Nice scam, eastbound only. And just in time for the Olympics. Guess they need to cash in when they can.
And why not? I have no problem with rich tourists helping to pay for our transit system. If they can pay thousands of dollars to travel here, get a hotel, and buy tickets to events, they can afford another $5 to support our city's "green" infrastructure.
YouTube Thread 2.0
in Off-Topic General
Posted · Edited by Columbo